Just My Imagination
by Alicia Blade
Summary: A look into Mamoru's imagination. First season, one part.


Inspired by "Just My Imagination" by The Temptations. All disclaimers apply. Check out Aria's Ink to see the story as it was originally published, with lyrics.

As always, much thanks to Stormlight. You're the best!

It won't seem like it at first, but this really is a first season. )

Just My Imagination  
Alicia Blade

"Good morning, Mamo-chan," the sweetest voice in the history of the world breathed against my neck.

An instant smile spread across my lips. "Morning, Usako," I mumbled, refusing to open my eyes to the sunlight I could feel streaming onto the blankets. I wrapped my arms tighter around her warm body that softly cuddled against my side. She sighed happily and I could feel her breath tickle my chest. Her hair had made a puddle beside my stomach, wrapping my limbs up in silky tendrils. "Did you sleep well?" I asked her, twirling some of the strands around my fingers.

"Like a princess," she mumbled, opening her eyes. Her long, thick eyelashes shifted over my skin, sending butterflies twirling through my veins. I inhaled deeply, her familiar scent overcoming me—the scent that had found a permanent resting place on my pillows and blankets.

"That's because you are, Sleeping Beauty," I whispered, brushing my lips over her forehead. She snuggled deeper into my embrace.

"Do I have to go to school today? Can't we just stay here forever?"

Chuckling, I grabbed onto the blankets and drew them up over our heads, submerging us beneath the comforting darkness, being able to momentarily forget the call of daylight. "Yes, Usako, you have to go to school. You have that test, remember."

She scrunched up her nose adorably, squinting one eye in distaste. With an equally goofy grin, I couldn't resist stealing a kiss from the temptingly pouting lips. "Come now, you've studied hard. You'll do wonderfully."

"I'd still rather stay here with you."

"Well, honestly, I'd rather that, too. But you know we can't."

She sighed and buried her arms beneath my waste, tucking her head between my neck and shoulder. "Fine, fine. I'll go."

"That's my girl. But it's plenty early. Would you like me to make you breakfast?"

"Oh, yes!"

"What would you like, love?"

"Mmm... French toast?"

"Your wish is my command." However, as I moved to push the blankets away, she only pressed herself deeper against me, her small, warm body holding me stationary in the bed.

"Oh, I changed my mind. Don't leave. Let's just lay here until the absolute last possible moment!"

"But then you'll be hungry at school."

"That's okay. I'll get by. You're just so comfortable."

Chuckling, I kissed her cheek. "How about we leave a few minutes early and we can swing through a drive-through?"

"Okay!"

"Okay." Sighing happily, I ran my hands up the back of her cotton pajamas, lightly stroking her shoulders with my thumbs. "I love you so much, Usako."

"I love you, too, Mamo-chan."

...

My alarm clock snapped to life, an old American song playing over the speakers. Groaning, I reached my hand out from beneath the blankets and squashed the snooze button beneath my thumb. "Fine!" I yelled to an empty room. "I'm getting up, I'm getting up." Sighing, I rolled down the blankets and kicked them away, revealing the bed, cold and empty without the warm presence that my mind had conjured up only a moment ago.

Dragging a hand through my hair, I crawled out of bed and plodded my way out to the kitchen to drink my morning coffee. Alone. I noticed then that even the warm sunshine through the window had only been imagined as the day was truly starting out cold and drizzly.

As the first drops of coffee scorched my tongue, it occurred to me that I was already running late for my morning class. Growling, I set the cup down and ran to get dressed.

Too long spent fantasizing this morning. My mornings had been getting shorter and shorter as I continuously opted to lay in bed with my imagination, with my Usako, rather than face the day alone, without her. 

...

I scanned over the newspaper headlines as Motoki set a chocolate shake in front of me. I thanked him and peeled the wrapper off the straw, tempted to flip straight to the comics and nightlife section, but feeling that it would somehow make me peculiarly uncultured. I glanced at my watch in annoyance. The day had been positively crawling by.

Suddenly, a pair of little hands clasped over my eyes. I gasped, the straw only inches from my lips.

"Guess who!" a voice chirped in my ear and my surprised look turned to an immediate grin.

"Hm... Keira Knightley?"

"No, baka!" Usagi said in mock annoyance, pulling her hands away and slapping me on the shoulder. Chuckling, I swiveled in the stool to be met with glimmering blue eyes and pouting lips.

"Ah, and here I was thinking it was the second most beautiful girl in the world, when lo and behold, it was really the first!" She rolled her eyes, unable to hide a smile and blush as I wrapped my arms around her and pulled her close, placing a light kiss on her lips.

"You're so corny," she teased.

"What can I say? You bring out the best in me. How was school?"

Her face lit up and she pulled a bit out of my grasp to dig through her schoolbag. "Great! Guess what I got on my test!" she commanded, pulling out a crumpled paper.

"What did you get?"

Her smile was positively radiant as she waved the test in my face. "88! I did better than Naru-chan! Not that I'm bragging, but... you know..."

"That's great, Usako! Congratulations. I knew you would do great."

"It's all thanks to you, of course. You're totally the best tutor in the world."

I kissed her cheek. "I see. You're only using me for my brains, aren't you?"

Giggling, she finally wrapped her arms around my neck and kissed me fully and completely on the lips. I moaned softly against the passion she showed, feeling her love and adoration fill me up from toe to scalp.

This girl is amazing. She is my sunshine, my life, my everything. She makes me feel that I'm alive, and that I want to be alive, for the first time that I can remember. She sees the rainbows in the rainstorm and the berries amidst the thorns. And would you believe it? But she loves me: cold, uncaring, emotionless me. Or, so I was before I got wrapped up in my feelings for her. I'm a very different man now: a man who sings in the shower and skips down the halls when no one is around.

A man who has fallen completely, totally, utterly in love.

As she pulled her soft lips away, I opened my eyes to be met with her beautiful face, her crystalline eyes twinkling in the arcade lights. "You're the best boyfriend in the world," she whispered against my cheek.

Grinning, I couldn't help but brush her lips with mine again. "Well, can the best boyfriend in the world buy the best girlfriend in the world a banana split in celebration of her outstanding achievements?"

Her giggle rang in my ears as her eyelashes fluttered flirtatiously before me. "I thought you'd never ask."

... 

"Mamoru? Hey, Mamoru!"

"Huh? Nani?"

Motoki stared at me worriedly. "Are you okay? Have you read a single word of that newspaper?"

I lowered my gaze to the paper, then to my watch, and realized that I'd been staring blankly at the personals for nearly twenty minutes.

Coughing, I took a deep drink of my melting milkshake before answering, "Sorry, just spacing out. I had a tough day at school."

He raised a suspicious eyebrow.

"Did you want something?" I asked in annoyance.

"Er... no. Nothing. Just... checking up on you." Slowly, he turned to walk away.

When he'd gone far enough, I dropped the newspaper and heaved a long sigh, before checking my watch again. It was far too late. Her school had gotten out nearly an hour and a half ago. She must not be coming this afternoon.

Sadly, I finished the shake and left the arcade, feeling much gloomier than I had when I'd first entered it.

...

The streets grew empty as twilight settled over the city. I strolled down the sidewalk, staring into the shop windows, going over my next research project in my head. Somehow, without me even realizing it at first, a petite, soft hand snaked its way into my grasp and remained there, fingers comfortably entwined with my own.

"I can't keep you out all night," I said to her after a long, pleasant silence had passed over us. "I really need to start working on this essay for next week."

She grinned up at me, my heart melting at the delightful smile. "That's fine. I have homework, too. Hey! Maybe we should go back to your place and have a study party!"

I chuckled, raising our hands and placing a tender kiss on the flesh beneath her thumb. I knew that her "study parties" always ended with an open manga, a bag of popcorn, and a few hours of cuddling, but I always agreed anyway. I simply couldn't resist. Besides, any excuse to hold her was good enough for me.

"Sure, Usako. But you have to promise that you'll actually get some work done."

Her lashes fluttered. "Are you implying that I normally don't? Ne, what's that sound?"

We both turned at the tune of children at play: giggles and rhymes and excited squealing. The little playground was set in the middle of a city block and covered in asphalt, but the kids didn't seem to mind as they swung from the monkey bars and chased each other in a game of tag. Off in a corner, a couple of adults were setting up a cake, paper plates, and a pile of presents on a picnic table, obviously preparing for a birthday party.

Usagi sighed, letting go of my hand to wrap both arms around my waist. I let my arm drape itself on her shoulders as her head snuggled against my side. "That's going to be us someday, Mamo-chan," she murmured, looking at the joyful parents.

My gaze dropped to her and I ran a finger along the curve of her jaw. "Someday, Usako." Briefly caressing her lips with mine, I felt a subtle warmth settle over my whole world and knew that I was right where I was supposed to be, and so long as she was at my side, everything would be fine. "But for right now," I said teasingly, a glint in my eye, "why be the adults when we can be the kids?" Chuckling, I pulled her over to the swing set.

"Mamo-chan?"

"When was the last time you played on a swing set, Usako?"

"Um… a couple months ago?"

I couldn't contain the laughter. "Figures," I mumbled as she climbed onto the rubber swing and I began pushing her lazily back and forth. It always amazed me how she could be such a carefree kid one moment and such a brilliant woman the next. Gods, I could spend my life just trying to solve these simple mysteries.

The orange sunlight reflected in her hair as the wind picked it up, sending two streamers soaring behind her as I pushed her higher on the swing. Her merry laughter tickled my heart as she kicked her long legs back and forth, leaning back to glide along the current. I laughed with her, all of the happiness welling inside of me until I felt that I would explode with joy. After she had reached the peak, I lessened the power with which I propelled her and stopped altogether. The swing steadily slowed and when it had settled into a calm rhythm, I reached forward and wrapped my arms around her shoulders and the chains of the swing, stopping her altogether.

"Oh, Mamo-chan, you're such a kid," she giggled as I brushed my lips over her temple. I only chuckled at the irony of her words, knowing that no one but her had ever seen this side of me. But she made me want to BE this side of me. She made me young again. She made life fun again.

Turning in the swing, Usako wrapped her arms around my neck, her eyes gazing up at me with as much love and affection as I felt for her. The mere thought of it made my head go light. She loved me. Taking her fully into my arms I fervently assaulted her lips, diving into her love with a passionate kiss. She gasped and moaned at the sudden attack, but almost instantly began to return it with equal enthusiasm, her small lips forming to mine, then opening slightly as our tongues laced together. The sounds of the playground died away and we were left alone in the world, clinging to each other, knowing we could spend eternity in that moment. 

...

"Yoo-hoo! Anyone in there?" 

I gasped, snapping to attention at the chipper voice. Turning my head, I saw Usagi staring up at me suspiciously, waving a hand in my face. She blinked at my startled expression, before a smug look came over her face and she turned to face the playground. "You really are a baka, Mamoru. Do you realize you've been staring at an empty playground for fifteen minutes?" 

My heartbeat slowly returned to its normal pace as I forced the blush down from my cheeks before it could deepen.

"And what are you doing here, Odango-chan? Oh, wait, this is where people your age usually hang out, isn't it?" I couldn't help but smile at her fantastic glare, though I pretended that it was a proud, teasing smile rather than one laden with compassion and adoration. "Besides, how would you know that I've been staring at it for fifteen minutes, unless you've been staring at ME for fifteen minutes?" I cocked an eyebrow as her hateful glare quickly turned to one of shy embarrassment.

"I have been doing no such thing!" she stuttered, desperately grasping for her composure. "Why would I want to stare at an arrogant jerk like you?"

I shrugged casually, my heart expanding with every moment that she stood beside me, every time my eye caught her gaze, every hateful glare that even I knew wasn't really all that hateful. I was continuously amazed by how perfectly adorable and true and innocent she was.

I loved her so much.

"I don't know; maybe you think I'm a handsome arrogant jerk."

She snorted, turning her head away. "In your dreams!"

"If you say so, Odango Atama. But then, why are you blushing?"

"Oh, you are SO imagining things!" she growled. "And don't you think you could go through one conversation without calling me that?" With a forced sob, she folded her arms and pouted up at me.

Chuckling, I resisted the urge to reach forward and touch one of the little golden balls of hair. "Sure! How about I call you Creampuff Head, instead? Or maybe Meatball Head? Would you prefer either of those?"

The look she gave me was worth a million dollars as her fists moved haughtily to her hips. "Don't you have a life?" she yelled, glaring up at me. "Why must you always tease me so much?"

I chuckled and shrugged. "Maybe it's because you're so darn cute when you're mad."

Her anger fumbled, her back going suddenly rigid. "Nani?" she breathed, her face turning a lovely cherry pink.

"Oh, sure," I whispered, strutting closer so that our chests almost touched, staring down into her glowing and confused eyes. "After all, what's lovelier than a tomato with odangos?" I asked, tugging on a blonde pigtail.

She blinked silently as the teasing sunk in, before quickly drawing her brow down and clenching her fists at her side. "Er... you... BAKA! Gah, you're such a jerk! I hate you!" With a face redder than the tomato I'd accused it of being, she turned on her heels and huffed away.

Sighing, I slid my hands into my pockets, watching her go. "I know, Usako. But... I love you." 

_But it was just my imagination..._

Usagi froze at the words drifting on the breeze, lightly caressing her ears. Her heart leapt and thudded hopefully as tears of joy seeped up into her eyes at the loving tone of the voice she knew by heart.

"What did you say, Mamo-chan?" she breathed dazedly, turning back to face him—but the sidewalk was empty and he was nowhere to be found.

Her shoulders sagged with a loud sigh as her tears of happiness instantly changed to those of bitter disappointment. Slowly, Usagi turned and began making her way toward home.

"I guess it was just my imagination..."

_. . . running away with me . . ._

Fin.

Reviews are always much appreciated! And my sincerest thanks to everyone for the warm welcome. I really, really missed you guys. Sorry this one was so short, they will get longer, but I wrote this one on a whim at one sitting. Hope you liked! God bless!  



End file.
